Post what you're watching

[TMoney]

In anticipation of Ken Burn's Vietnam series this fall, I decided to give "Vietnam: A Television History" a watch.

Over the past few weeks of watching VaTH it is hard to not think constantly on how tragic all this episode of our history was, especially given what we know now.

A couple of things in particular really stood out to me.

• War is hell. The images and video speak loudly and clearly.
• How pointless stopping the "spread of communism" was. After billions of dollars, tens of thousands of American soldiers dead, and more than a million Vietnamese dead, what was accomplished? A total strategic defeat in the region. Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos would all fall to communist forces in 1975. While that fact matters a great deal to the citizens of those countries, it sure doesn't seem to have had much of an effect on either the Cold War as a whole or on US interests in general in the 40+ years since. Ideas like "containment" and the "domino theory" have not held up well to historical scrutiny.
• The faith of Americans in our government was irreparably harmed. The government doesn't seem to have ever been able to communicate the reasons the war was being fought outside of "stop communism and protect democracy." The cooking up of the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the dishonesty from the government in general and LBJ in particular are black marks on what should have been one of the great presidencies of the 20th century.
• Blaming "the media," "the elites," "the students," and "the city dwellers" while at the same time saying that the "silent-majority" of ordinary Americans support something is a good way to tell that there is bullshit afoot. It is scary how similar the soundbites of some of these politicians and military leaders sound to our present day situation.
• The inability to commit to any kind of end-game scenario outside of a cease-fire/stalemate and the lack of a strong ally worth supporting put the US Military in a very bad spot. The leaders and governments we backed/propped-up sure seemed incompetent, corrupt, sadistic, or all three combined. It is not hard to see why the populace of the region was sympathetic to the communists and the insurgents when you see what was going on in Saigon. Not invading North Vietnam or more aggressively going after the Ho-Chin-Minh trail made "victory" damn near impossible against a smart and determined foe who was always in it for the long game.
• Nixon might be a real shitty human being, but he and Kissinger's "peace with honor" plan probably should have been the strategy from the beginning. At least to me, Kissinger looks very prescient here. Other than not getting involved in the conflict in the first place "peace with honor" sure seems to have been the best reasonable outcome.
• The real story of the Vietnam War and Indochina conflict won't be told until we hear China's side of the story. While the cold war and US/USSR conflict is and has always been in the historical forefront, interesting developments were going on during this time period that put China on the track to be the dominant power in the east and eclipse Russia.

Anyways, enough ranting out of me for one day. Feel free to disagree with anything I've said. I am no expert or historian and the above is just my reactions to the content in the documentary.

I am looking forward to what Ken Burns' doc has to say roughly 30 years after VaTH. While Burns has the benefit of 30 additional years of scholarship on the topic, he won't be able to interview many of the prominent interviewees in VaTH that no longer with us.

5/5. Obviously.

Edited April 2, 2017 by TMoney

[Dusty Chalk]

On 3/31/2017 at 7:54 PM, Dusty Chalk said:

13 Reasons Why

(my sister did costuming)

This might be the most important thing I've ever seen.  I highly recommend everyone watch this.  EVERYONE.  There is no-one that won't be affected by it.

And yes, I include Al, Dan, Jacob, Brent, and our multi-personality troll.  EVERYONE.

[Dusty Chalk]

I had to take a break from that, because it's so devastating.  Remember every time the Larsens came on screen in The Killing?  Yeah, it's worse than that.  Because I guarantee you, there will be at least one character that you will be able to relate to.

So...Louis C.K. 2017.  That was hilarious.  That might be funnier than my beloved Iliza.

[TMoney]

http://www.marinij.com/social-affairs/20170405/13-reasons-why-author-talks-teen-bullying-suicide-during-larkspur-visit

I didn't realize "13 Reasons" was filmed in Marin. That is cool.

[Dusty Chalk]

Finished it (I did binge an extra episode or two, but for the most part, couldn't handle more than two per night, which is my usual rule).  Damn powerful stuff.  Really hard to watch.  I need something a bit lighter, so watching this now:

 

[ironbut]

I became a big fan of the Starz Original Series "Black Sails" which is loosely based on the characters from Treasure Island.

Yup, pirates. But not Disney pirates. These guys had a lot of depth and you couldn't help but relate to even the worst of them.

This show is produced by Michael Bay so there are plenty of big battles but what really sold me was the story and the characters.

So I binged the final season 4 this week and I'm very sorry to think that there won't be more.

The series starts a little slowly but I think it's excellent.

 

[grawk]

Eureka! Season 1, Episodes 1-4

[jpelg]

On ‎2‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 5:32 AM, jpelg said:

Legion (FX network) - two eps in & it's fantastic. Hope they can keep it up.

Finished watching the season finale (ep8) - did not disappoint.

Peter, please tell me you are watching this. So many "WTF?" moments!

[Dusty Chalk]

Train to Busan -- unholy carp, this is the greatest zombie movie ever.  Great concept, too:  fast zombies, but they don't attack unless they see or hear you.  Just some great scenes, and great setups, and I'm only 1/3 of the way through.

 

[VPI]

I am intrigued, is it a zombie movie with subtitles?

[Dusty Chalk]

Yes, but there's a lot of action that doesn't require subtitles.  It's very visual.  Even some of the emotional interactions are visual.

[Grahame]

So a silent zombie movie?

[morphsci]

I have always had a problem with fast zombies, from a neurophysiological point-of-view.

[Dusty Chalk]

14 minutes ago, Grahame said:

So a silent zombie movie?

No, no, not silent at all.  Lots of heavy breathing.  But there are definitely whole set pieces that could well have been set into a silent film.

I really need to watch Rififi.

[TMoney]

Rogue One and Force Awakens have set the bar so fucking low that this one has to be good, right?

[Dusty Chalk]

 

[HiWire]

Who says millenials are lazy?

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Future Islands @ Coachella on the YouTube channel.

[Dusty Chalk]

And now Hans Zimmer with my girl, Tina Guo, front and center.  

Tycho were also great!  RIYL Knucks' spins.

[Dusty Chalk]

And now...Lorde.  (paging Stretch...paging Mr. @Hopstretch...)

[EdipisReks1]

Harlots. It kind of makes me think of The Knick, the way it's made. 

[EdipisReks1]

Paterson. 

[MexicanDragon]

Grace & Frankie

Loving it.
 

**BRENT**

[ironbut]

I'm sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for tonight's opening episode of this season's Fargo!

I've loved the previous seasons. The show has attracted some great actors, Billy Bob Thornton, Marin Freeman, Colin Hanks or season 2; Patrick Wilson, Ted Danson, Kirsten Dunst and this season; Ewan McGregor x 2, Carrie Coon, and my current heart throb, Mary Elizabeth Winstead. 

I can't wait to see what the Coen's will produce.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Indeed!  I am excite.  (I still need to watch season 2.)

Me:  Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hydra -- I'm loving this alternate universe shit.  "No Regrets" (S04E18) might be my favourite episode yet.

I mean, other than Patton Oswalt playing 5 or 6 (I keep losing count) identical n-plets.